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KINGSTON - Upon further review, the ruling on Mericle Field is reversed and the controversial name is out.

Wyoming Seminary backtracked Wednesday, and the executive committee of the private school's board of trustees scrubbed the name of kids-for-cash developer Robert K. Mericle off a new athletic field.

"This decision was made after a thorough review of the current situation and after meeting with the Mericle family, who had agreed to provide support for the stadium renovation project when approached by the school," Richard M. Goldberg, chairman of the board of trustees, wrote in an email released by school spokeswoman Gail Smallwood.

By Wednesday afternoon, the Mericle name was no longer on the exterior facade to the renovated stadium grandstand and the new scoreboard on the Kingston campus of the elite college-preparatory school.

"This is a regrettable situation and we apologize to anyone who has been offended by the naming of the field," Goldberg wrote. "It was never the intention to show insensitivity to anyone; rather, this was a gesture to honor a family for its sincere support over a 20-year period."

Mericle paid $2.1 million to former county judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., who placed juveniles in two for-profit detention centers built by Mericle's construction firm. The wealthy developer pleaded guilty in 2009 to failing to report a felony and is expected to serve prison time after he testifies for the prosecution in another federal public corruption case against former state Sen. Raphael J. Musto.

The corrupt judges are serving lengthy prison sentences. Mericle testified for the prosecution against Ciavarella, who is serving a 28-year federal prison sentence after a jury convicted him in February 2011.

Luzerne County Judge Richard Hughes, a member of the Wyoming Seminary Board of Trustees, said Tuesday he immediately objected after seeing Mericle Field signs at the stadium and was blindsided by the decision to name the field. Mericle Construction Inc. was the general contractor for the stadium project, which concluded just before school resumed in August.

"The school president's initial decision to name the field has unintentionally detracted from the focus of Wyoming Seminary's mission of providing superior educational opportunities," Goldberg wrote Wednesday.

Later, Wyoming Seminary officials claimed the statement was inaccurate and altered Goldberg's quote to read: "The initial decision to name the field has detracted from the focus of Wyoming Seminary's mission."

Goldberg, Mericle and Wyoming Seminary President Kip P. Nygren have not returned numerous phone and email messages in the last week.

The scoreboard for the other new artificial-turf field at the renovated Nesbitt Stadium still says Antinnes Field, in honor of former director of athletics, head football coach and administrator Marvin Antinnes.

The school had scheduled a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the renovated stadium this Saturday, but officials have postponed that event, according to an email sent Tuesday to "the Wyoming Seminary Community" from Goldberg and Nygren.

"Some members of the Sem community have had questions and concerns about this issue, and we want you to know that we have heard you and we are now in the midst of discussions," they wrote. "The Board recognizes the gravity of the situation, and is working tirelessly to determine an outcome that is in the best interest of everyone involved. As soon as a decision is made, we will share it with you."

School officials did not say who met with the Mericle family to discuss the ongoing controversy. Mericle, 50, is a graduate of Meyers High School in Wilkes-Barre and lives in Jackson Township with his wife, Kim.

Their daughter, Kristen, graduated from Wyoming Seminary in the spring, and she played on the school's field hockey and lacrosse teams. Robert Mericle served a term on the school's board of trustees, Smallwood said.

WILK News Radio's Steve Corbett, who has expressed outrage over the Mericle Field controversy for a week, praised Wednesday's decision.

"If nothing else, it shows that an increasing number of people aren't buying what he is selling," Corbett said. "It's a victory for good people who know the difference between right and wrong."

A federal judge in 2011 authorized the distribution of $2.15 million that Mericle set aside for children's charities as part of his plea deal. Mericle was sued in class-action lawsuits involving more than 1,000 former offenders who appeared in the county juvenile court from 2004 to 2008.

Last December, a federal judge approved a $17.75 million settlement between Mericle and the plaintiffs.

Other defendants in the now-consolidated class-action suit remain, and they include Conahan and Ciavarella.

mbuffer@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2073

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